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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

送僧归日本

Seeing Off a Monk Returning to Japan

钱起

Qian Qi

上国随缘住，来途若梦行。
浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻。
水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声。
惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明。

You came to the central land and lived by fate's decree,
the road you traveled like a walk in a dream.
Skies brim with the sea — the ocean is far;
leaving the world, your dharma boat is light.
Water and moon share the stillness of Zen,
fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit hymns.
Only the shadow of a single lamp do I cherish —
ten thousand leagues away, still bright before your eyes.

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Meaning

Qian Qi sees off a Japanese monk returning home. The monk came to China by karmic chance as if walking in a dream; now he crosses the vast ocean in a boat made light by the dharma. His Zen stillness pervades water and moon, and even sea creatures seem to heed his chants. The poem closes on a single lamp — the poet trusts its light will shine for the monk ten thousand leagues away.

你随着因缘来到上国，来时的路途恍如梦中行。浮天沧海，万里遥远；此去离世，法舟轻快。水月相通于禅寂之境，鱼龙也在聆听梵音。我只怜惜那一盏灯的影，万里之外眼中仍自光明。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] You came to the central land and lived by fate's decree; the road you traveled like a walk in a dream. Skies brim with the sea — the ocean is far; leaving the world, your dharma boat is light. Water and moon share the stillness of Zen; fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit hymns. Only the shadow of a single lamp do I cherish — ten thousand leagues away, still bright before your eyes. [Structure] Eight lines, four couplets: the coming, the going, the Zen attainment, the blessing. The poem's spine is the word 'light' — a light boat for a heavy sea — and its heart is the lamp. [Imagery] 'Skies brim with the sea — the ocean is far' writes the voyage's immensity; 'leaving the world, your dharma boat is light' answers vastness with lightness — one man's enlightenment as ballast. 'Water and moon share the stillness of Zen' is the classic Zen image of the mind's clarity; 'fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit hymns' extends the dharma's reach to all beings. The closing 'lamp' is at once the monk's voyage-light and the transmitted lamp of the dharma. [Emotion] The poem never names attachment. Friendship is distilled into one cherished lamp-shadow — a blessing that is also a wish: may the dharma-light cross the sea with you.

【白话串讲】钱起写《送僧归日本》：“上国随缘住，来途若梦行”——“浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻”——“水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声”——“惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明”——他送日本僧——惟怜一灯影。【意象与手法】 “浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻”写归途之远与法舟之轻；“水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声”写禅心之湛然；结以“惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明”以灯影写禅光之朗照。空灵蕴藉。【情感与主旨】钱起送日本僧人归国之作，于送别中寓禅意，境界空灵，是唐人送僧诗中的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻”写归途之远；“惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明”以灯影写禅光。

Background

Qian Qi (c. 720–782), courtesy name Zhongwen, was from Wuxing (modern Huzhou, Zhejiang). A jinshi of the Dali era, he was one of the 'Ten Talents of Dali' and is paired with Liu Changqing as 'Qian and Liu'; his verse is clear and refined. Tang China received a steady stream of Japanese monks — Kukai and Saicho among the most famous — who came to study Buddhism and returned home carrying the dharma; the unnamed monk of this poem is one of them. The poem's blend of farewell and Zen is characteristic of the Dali style.

《送僧归日本》为中唐诗人钱起所作五言律诗。钱起（约720—约782），字仲文，吴兴（今浙江湖州）人，大历年间进士，为「大历十才子」之一，诗风清丽，与刘长卿并称「钱刘」。此诗送日本僧人归国。唐代中日文化交流频繁，日本屡遣遣唐使来华，亦多有僧人来华求法，如空海、最澄等，此僧当为来华求法后归国者。诗中「上国随缘住，来途若梦行」写其来华求法之缘与途之如梦；「浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻」写其归途之远与法舟之轻；「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」写其禅心之湛然、佛法之感化；「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」以灯影写禅光之朗照。钱起与方外之士多有交游，此诗于送日本僧归国之际，以沧海、法舟、水月、灯影等意象写禅意，境界空灵，寓祝福于禅意之中，是唐人送僧诗中的名篇，也是「大历十才子」诗风「清丽空灵」的典型体现。此篇《送僧归日本》在历代选本中多被收录，其艺术价值与流传之广，正可见此诗在同类题材中的重要地位。诗人以匠心独运之笔写寻常之情事，遂使此作历千载而犹有生气，为后人所称赏不绝。

Art

The poem's craft is contrast. 'Skies brim with the sea — the ocean is far' gives the journey its immensity; 'leaving the world, your dharma boat is light' answers it with a boat that rides light because the heart rides light — outward distance against inward freedom. The third couplet moves from the monk's inner stillness ('water and moon') to its outward effect ('fish and dragons'), the dharma's reach widening without a word of praise. The close withdraws to one object — a single lamp — and lets its light carry the whole blessing: the dharma-lamp crossing ten thousand leagues of sea. Buddhist terms (dharma boat, water and moon, Sanskrit sound, one lamp) are used as images, not jargon, so the poem reads as a poem, not a sermon.

此诗艺术上以「意象空灵、寓禅于送」见长。全诗八句，前四句写来去之途，后四句写禅心之悟。首联「上国随缘住，来途若梦行」写其来华求法之缘：随着因缘来到上国，来时的路途恍如梦中行，「随缘」写其来华之缘法自然，「若梦行」写来途之缥缈如梦。颔联「浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻」写归途之远与法舟之轻：浮天沧海，万里遥远；此去离世，法舟轻快，「浮天沧海远」写归途之远、海天之阔，「去世法舟轻」写其离世归国、法舟轻快。颈联「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」写其禅心之湛然：水月相通于禅寂之境，鱼龙也在聆听梵音，「水月」写禅心之澄明如水中月，「鱼龙听梵声」写佛法之感化广被。尾联「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」以灯影作结：我只怜惜那一盏灯的影，万里之外眼中仍自光明，「一灯影」写禅灯之光，「眼中明」写禅光之朗照心间。全诗由来途而归途、由归途而禅心、由禅心而灯明，意象空灵，寓禅于送，是唐人送僧诗中的名篇。

Allusions

'Dharma boat' is the Buddhist figure of the dharma as a ferry carrying beings across the sea of birth and death, found in figures like the Lotus Sutra. 'Water and moon' — the moon reflected in water — is the standard Buddhist image of the emptiness and stillness of all things, as in the Avatamsaka Sutra's 'the bodhisattva is a cool moon, moving in ultimate emptiness'. 'One lamp' refers to the transmitted lamp of dharma-wisdom: the Vimalakirti Sutra says one lamp can light a hundred thousand lamps, and the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp later made 'transmitting the lamp' the name for the Zen lineage. 'Sanskrit sound' means the chanting of sutras. 'Leaving the world' puns between departing China and leaving the worldly realm.

诗中「法舟」「水月」「一灯」「梵声」等语，皆含佛教典故。「法舟」以舟喻佛法，谓佛法能渡人于生死苦海，如舟之渡人，《法华经》等皆有以舟喻法之喻；「水月」即水中之月，佛教以「水月」喻诸法无实、真如湛然，如《华严经》「菩萨清凉月，游于毕竟空」，禅宗亦以「水月」写禅心之澄明；「一灯」喻佛法智慧之传承，如《维摩诘经》「一灯燃百千灯」，《景德传灯录》以传灯喻法脉相传；「梵声」即梵呗诵经之声。钱起以这些佛教意象入诗，不着痕迹，而把送日本僧归国的禅意写得空灵蕴藉，既写其归途之远、禅心之明，亦寓对佛法远播的祝愿，是善于熔铸佛典意象的体现。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。此等用典之法，熔铸古今而不着痕迹，既不炫博以示学，亦不拘泥于旧解，正见诗人学养之深与运思之巧。读者于此等处尤当细心玩味，方能领会其言外之旨与味外之味。

Commentary

This is the classic Tang poem for seeing off a monk, admired for uniting the grandeur of a sea voyage with the stillness of Zen. Later readers have especially prized the closing couplet: one small lamp, carried in the poet's mind across ten thousand leagues, turns farewell into blessing. Because the monk goes to Japan, the 'one lamp' has often been read as the dharma-lamp itself crossing the sea — a reading that gives the poem a place in the story of Buddhism's eastward transmission. The poem's air of clarity without cold is the mark of the Dali poets.

这首《送僧归日本》，写的是送日本僧人归国，于送别之中寓禅意，境界空灵，读之令人心静。首联「上国随缘住，来途若梦行」，写其来华求法之缘：随着因缘来到上国，来时的路途恍如梦中行。「随缘」二字，写尽僧人随缘而来、了无牵挂的佛家胸怀；「若梦行」写来途之缥缈如梦，千山万水，恍如一梦。颔联「浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻」，写归途之远与法舟之轻：浮天沧海，万里遥远；此去离世，法舟轻快。「浮天沧海远」写其归途横渡沧海、万里迢遥；「去世法舟轻」写其离此世而归，乘法舟而行，举重若轻——以法舟之「轻」，写其心境之超然，虽是万里远行，而无畏无惧。颈联「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」，写其禅心之湛然：水月相通于禅寂之境，鱼龙也在聆听梵音。「水月」写其禅心澄明，如水中之月，湛然清净；「鱼龙听梵声」写佛法之感化，连海中鱼龙也来聆听梵音。这两句，把僧人的修行之境与佛法的广大，写得空灵而庄严。尾联「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」，以灯影作结：我只怜惜那一盏灯的影，万里之外眼中仍自光明。「一灯」喻佛法智慧之光，此灯虽小，而能照彻万里，朗照于心。这既是写僧人归国后佛法远播、慧灯不灭，亦是诗人对友人归途平安、佛法常明的祝福。全诗由来途而归途、由归途而禅心、由禅心而灯明，意象空灵，寓禅于送，正是「大历十才子」清丽空灵诗风的典范，读之令人神往。

Prosody

Form Five-character regulated verse (lüshi), eight lines, oblique-tone (ze) opening pattern五言律诗（近体，仄起式）

Rhyme Level-tone rhyme on xing, qing, sheng, and ming — all in the geng rhyme group of the Pingshui rhyme dictionary (the geng and related finals); a single rhyme throughout, clear and bright, suiting the ethereal, elevated tone of a monk's farewell.全诗押平声韵「行」「轻」「声」「明」，韵脚同属庚青类（行、轻、声、明），一韵到底，韵部宽舒而音调清畅。五律以平韵谐畅为常，此诗「行」「轻」「声」「明」四韵音色清亮，正与送僧归国的空灵情调相称；「明」字收束全篇，与「万里眼中明」之句相映，韵脚亦含禅光明朗之意，声情与辞情相凑。

Tone pattern Strict antithesis in the middle couplets: 'brim with skies' against 'leaving the world', 'vast sea' against 'dharma boat'; 'water and moon' against 'fish and dragons', 'Zen stillness' against 'Sanskrit hymns'. The poem opens with an oblique-tone start and ends level, its cadence moving from vastness into stillness.句式上，首联「上国随缘住，来途若梦行」仄起，以「行」收句，写来华之缘，音节空灵；颔联「浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻」对仗工整，「浮天」「沧海」「去世」「法舟」相映，写归途之远，音节开阔；颈联「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」写禅心之感化，音节庄严；尾联「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」以「明」字平收，音节转舒，情调由庄严归于空明。全诗平仄相间、音节随情起伏，读来如送僧归国、望海天相接之音，空灵而悠长。

Reading note The rhyme's bright -ng endings carry the poem's clear, elevated air; the middle couplets open wide and close still, and the final 'ming' ('bright') lights the whole piece from behind — the sound of the poem enacting the lamp it describes.此诗为五言律诗，是唐人送僧诗中的名篇，也是「大历十才子」清丽空灵诗风的典型体现。全诗的艺术特色在于「意象空灵、寓禅于送」：首联「上国随缘住，来途若梦行」写其来华求法之缘，以「随缘」「若梦」见其佛家胸怀；颔联「浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻」写归途之远与法舟之轻，一远一轻，见其心境超然；颈联「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」以水月、鱼龙写其禅心之湛然与佛法之感化；尾联「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」以灯影写禅光之朗照，寓祝福于禅意。全诗由来途而归途、由归途而禅心、由禅心而灯明，意象空灵，寓禅于送。尤为精妙者，是「水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声」一联，以水月鱼龙写禅心与佛法，空灵而庄严；而「惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明」一结，以灯影写禅光，既是祝福亦是写禅，正是大历诗人「于禅意中见深情」的典范，为历代选本所常收。

Line by line

上国随缘住，来途若梦行。

You came to the central land and lived by fate's decree; the road you traveled like a walk in a dream.

你随着因缘来到上国，来时的路途恍如梦中行。

Sojourning in the upper land as conditions led; the coming road, like a journey in a dream.

首联写其来华求法之缘，起笔即见佛家胸怀。「上国随缘住」写随着因缘来到上国，「上国」指中国，是日本僧人对唐土的尊称，「随缘」写其来华之缘法自然、了无牵挂，正是佛家「随缘任运」之怀；「来途若梦行」写来时的路途恍如梦中行，「若梦行」写来途之缥缈如梦，千山万水、沧海横渡，恍如一梦，亦暗含人生如幻、行旅如梦的佛家之意。两句一写其来、一写其途，以「随缘」「若梦」写尽僧人来华求法之缘与行，含蓄蕴藉，为全诗定下了空灵的基调。

The opening couplet writes the condition of his coming to the Middle Kingdom for the dharma, the Buddhist breadth at once. 'Sojourning in the upper land as conditions led' — 'the upper land' means China, the Japanese monk's honorific for the Tang land; 'as conditions led' the natural coming of his condition, no attachment, precisely the Buddhist mind of 'following conditions and fate'; 'the coming road, like a journey in a dream' — 'like a journey in a dream' the vagueness of the coming road, mountains and rivers, the sea crossed, as if one dream, secretly holding the Buddhist meaning of life as illusion, travel as dream. Two lines, one his coming one his road, through 'as conditions led' and 'like a dream' writing to the full the monk's coming for the dharma and his journey, restrained and lasting, tuning the poem's ethereal keynote.

浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻。

Skies brim with the sea — the ocean is far; leaving the world, your dharma boat is light.

浮天沧海，万里遥远；此去离世，法舟轻快。

The sky-floating blue sea, far away; leaving this world, the dharma-boat light.

颔联写归途之远与法舟之轻，是全诗境界开阔处。「浮天沧海远」写浮天沧海、万里遥远，「浮天」写海天之相连、一望无际，「沧海远」写其归途横渡沧海、万里迢遥，写尽归途之远；「去世法舟轻」写此去离世、法舟轻快，「去世」写其离此世而归，「法舟轻」以舟喻法，写其乘法舟而行、举重若轻——虽是万里远行，而心无所畏，以法舟之「轻」，写其心境之超然。两句一写海天之远、一写法舟之轻，一远一轻相对，把归途的遥远与心境的超然对照写出，是「以意象写心境」的妙笔。

The neck couplet writes the returning road's distance and the dharma-boat's light, the open-realm part of the poem. 'The sky-floating blue sea, far away' — 'sky-floating' the sea and sky joined, boundless, 'the blue sea far away' the return crossing the blue sea, ten thousand li distant, writing the return's distance to the full; 'leaving this world, the dharma-boat light' — 'leaving this world' his departing this life to return, 'the dharma-boat light' figuring the dharma through the boat, his riding the dharma-boat, the heavy borne light — though the ten-thousand-li journey, the heart's fearlessness, through the dharma-boat's 'light' writing the mind's transcendence. Two lines, one the sea-sky's distance, one the dharma-boat's light, one far one light set against, writing the return's distance and the mind's transcendence in contrast, the 'writing the mind through image' stroke.

水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声。

Water and moon share the stillness of Zen; fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit hymns.

水月相通于禅寂之境，鱼龙也在聆听梵音。

Water and moon commune with Chan stillness; fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit sound.

颈联写其禅心之湛然，是全诗最见禅意处。「水月通禅寂」写水月相通于禅寂之境，「水月」以水中之月喻禅心之澄明湛然，「通禅寂」写其心与禅寂之境相通，一片清净；「鱼龙听梵声」写鱼龙也在聆听梵音，「鱼龙」指海中鱼龙，「听梵声」写连鱼龙也来聆听其诵经之声，佛法之感化广被于万物。两句一写其内之禅心、一写其外之感化，以内之澄明写外之感化，把僧人的修行之境与佛法的广大写得空灵而庄严。诗人不直写其道行高深，而以此水月鱼龙写之，正是「以象写禅」的典范之笔。

The following couplet writes the clarity of his Chan mind, the most Chan part of the poem. 'Water and moon commune with Chan stillness' — 'water and moon' figuring the Chan mind's clarity through the moon in water, 'commune with Chan stillness' the mind's communion with the still Chan realm, all purity; 'fish and dragons listen to the Sanskrit sound' — 'fish and dragons' the sea's fish and dragons, 'listen to the Sanskrit sound' even the fish and dragons come to hear his chanting, the dharma's transforming grace reaching all things. Two lines, one the inner Chan mind, one the outer grace, writing the outer grace through the inner clarity, writing the monk's realm of practice and the dharma's vastness as ethereal and solemn. The poet writes not directly the depth of his virtue, but through this water, moon, fish, and dragon, precisely the model of 'writing Chan through image'.

惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明。

Only the shadow of a single lamp do I cherish — ten thousand leagues away, still bright before your eyes.

我只怜惜那一盏灯的影，万里之外眼中仍自光明。

I only cherish the shadow of that one lamp; ten thousand li away, bright in the eyes.

尾联以灯影作结，是全诗立意的点睛之笔。「惟怜一灯影」写我只怜惜那一盏灯的影，「一灯」喻佛法智慧之光，以「惟怜」写诗人对这灯影的珍爱，亦是写其对佛法之光明的向往；「万里眼中明」写万里之外眼中仍自光明，「万里」写其归途之远，「眼中明」写这灯影虽远在万里，而眼中仍自光明，禅光朗照心间。两句以灯影写禅光，一灯虽小，而能照彻万里、朗照于心，既是写僧人归国后佛法远播、慧灯不灭，亦是诗人对友人归途平安、佛法常明的祝福。以灯作结，空灵蕴藉，是全诗境界最高的收束之笔。

The closing couplet closes in the lamp's shadow, the eye of the poem's theme. 'I only cherish the shadow of that one lamp' — 'one lamp' figuring the dharma-wisdom light, 'I only cherish' the poet's treasuring of this lamp's shadow, and his longing for the dharma's light; 'ten thousand li away, bright in the eyes' — 'ten thousand li' the return's distance, 'bright in the eyes' though the lamp's shadow is ten thousand li away, the eyes still self-bright, the Chan light shining on the heart. Two lines, writing the Chan light through the lamp's shadow, one lamp though small, and it can shine through ten thousand li, bright on the heart; at once writing that after the monk's return the dharma spreads afar, the wisdom lamp unquenched, and the poet's blessing for the friend's safe return and the dharma's constant light. Closing in the lamp, ethereal and restrained, the highest-realm close of the poem.

Study

Word focus

随缘 'Following conditions' — the Buddhist term for accepting what circumstances bring, without attachment. It writes the monk's coming to China as an act of fate and freedom both, and sets the poem's unattached tone from the first line. 「随缘」写其来华之缘法自然，是首联写佛家胸怀的关键。「上国随缘住」着一「随缘」，写其随着因缘而来、了无牵挂，正是佛家「随缘任运、无所执著」之怀。着一「随缘」，既写其来华之缘，亦见其心之空明无滞，为全诗定下了空灵的基调，是「以一字见禅心」的妙笔。「随缘」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

轻 'Light' — the dharma boat rides light because the heart rides light. Set against the 'far' of the boundless ocean, this one word turns outward distance into inward freedom — the poem's pivotal word. 「轻」字写法舟之轻快，是颔联写心境超然的关键。「去世法舟轻」着一「轻」，以舟喻法，写其乘法舟而行、举重若轻——虽是万里远行、沧海横渡，而心无所畏，以法舟之「轻」，写其心境之超然。「轻」字与「浮天沧海远」之「远」相对照，一远一轻，写尽归途之远与心之超然，是「以一字写心境」的妙笔。「轻」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

通 'Sharing in, communicating with' — water and moon 'share in' the stillness of Zen: the mind's clarity and the world's stillness are one. The word welds Zen insight to natural image without a seam. 「通」字写水月与禅寂之境相通，是颈联写禅心湛然的关键。「水月通禅寂」着一「通」，写其心与禅寂之境相通、融为一体——如水月相映，湛然澄明，一片清净无染。着一「通」字，把禅心之澄明与禅境之寂然写得圆融无碍，是「以象写禅」的点睛之笔。「通」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。

怜 'To cherish' — the poet cherishes the single lamp-shadow. The word turns Buddhist blessing into personal friendship: not doctrinal light but one cherished lamp, crossing the sea with the monk. 「怜」字写诗人对一灯之影的珍爱，是尾联写禅光的关目。「惟怜一灯影」着一「怜」，写诗人怜惜、珍爱这一盏灯的影——灯影虽微，而含佛法智慧之光，诗人对之「惟怜」，既见其对佛法光明的向往，亦见其对友人此去佛法远播的期许。着一「怜」字，把禅意与深情融于一字，含蓄蕴藉，是尾联的点睛之笔。「怜」一字之用而全篇生色，与诗中情韵相为表里，正见诗人炼字之精与匠心之独运。读者于此等处若细细体会，自能领会其于平淡之中见功力、于寻常处见神奇之妙。